Shloka 6

पापात्म-धर्मात्म-लक्षणम् तथा निर्वेदेन मोक्षमार्गः | Marks of the Sinful and the Righteous; Dispassion (Nirveda) as a Path to Liberation

Devanagari script

अलसग्रहणं प्राप्तो दुर्मेधावी तथोच्यते । बुद्धिलाघवयुक्तेन जनेनादीर्घदर्शिना,जो दूरतककी बात नहीं सोच सकते, ऐसे मन्दबुद्धि मानवोंने उसे आलसीकी उपाधि दे दी। उसे दुर्बुद्धि कहा जाने लगा

Transliteration

alasagrahaṇaṁ prāpto durmedhāvī tathocyate | buddhilāghavayuktena janenādīrghadarśinā ||

Translation

Bhīṣma dijo: «Cuando a una persona se le marca con el cargo de “pereza”, también se la tacha de torpe. Quienes tienen entendimiento superficial y carecen de visión de largo alcance se apresuran a poner etiquetas—lo llaman perezoso e inepto—porque no alcanzan a comprender lo que está más allá del instante inmediato».

Word by Word

अलसग्रहणम्the taking/attribution of (the label) ‘lazy’

प्राप्तःhaving obtained / came to be (so called)

दुर्मेधावीdull-witted / of bad intellect

तथाthus / in that way

उच्यतेis called / is said

बुद्धिलाघवयुक्तेनby one endowed with lightness/shallowness of intellect

जनेनby a person

अदीर्घदर्शिनाby one who is not far-sighted / short-sighted

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Do not hastily label someone as lazy or unintelligent; such judgments often arise from shallow understanding and lack of long-term vision. Ethical discernment requires depth and foresight.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhishma’s instruction during the Shanti Parva, he comments on how society misjudges people: those who cannot think far ahead quickly accuse someone of laziness and then also call him dull-witted.